Secondary
by JayBirdJoker
Summary: DBZ AU. A young Raditz's first mission goes awry due to Frieza's interference and information provided by his father, Bardock. Raditz is forced to adapt in order to survive, but as time goes on it feels like he's losing sight of who he is and what Saiyans truly are. Discovering that his younger brother was still alive with brain damage only manages to complicate things further...
1. Chapter 1

"It has been a long and brutal tournament for our contenders and it has all led to these two teams! The team that wins this tournament will be allowed to conquer other planets in the name of Lord Frieza and have the honor of joining the ranks of his armed forces!"

Hundreds of Saiyans sitting at the stands in the stadium roared in a mix of cheers and jeers. At the center of the stadium was a ring with two Saiyan children brawling for victory. There had been sixteen teams, each with three members each. The tournament had gone on for days until finally only two teams had remained. Team Shalloto and Team Raditz.

Raditz was the strongest in his team, followed by his longtime comrade, Turles and their newest member, Rycelo, though they were all the same age at seven years old. The opposing team was lead by Shalloto with his teammates, Bit and Chicoryto. Although their ages and power levels were very different from each other, they balanced each other out and Shalloto alone was far more powerful than Raditz.

Raditz and his team had been quick to push any advantage they had, first ganging up on their weakest and youngest member, Chicoryto and knocking him out mercilessly. All it took was some taunts from Turles and Rycelo to distract Bit and wear him down enough to kick him out of the ring, though not without some intense injuries to Rycelo who hadn't been quite as fast as Turles. They had grown overconfident when it was three against one and underestimated Shalloto. He'd finished off Rycelo, sending him to the medical bay and had managed to throw Turles out of the ring in a single move.

Now it was just Raditz and Shalloto.

"You're a coward!" Shalloto shouted at his opponent, panting. His face was covered in scrapes and parts of his uniform were heavily damaged. "You took out our weakest member and then left your teammates alone to fight and try to wear me down! This isn't battle!"

"It's called strategy," Raditz snickered. "I believe it worked spectacularly. Here I am at practically full health while you're looking a _little_ worse for wear."

"Enough talking! Kick his ass, Raditz!" Turles shouted from the side of the ring. The Saiyans in the stands cheered loudly in agreement.

Grinning, Raditz lunged forward and punched Shalloto as hard as he could in the jaw. Before the older Saiyan could recover, he brought his other fist up and punched him again. Shalloto crumbled to the ground, trembling and panting. He spat out blood and Raditz wrinkled his nose at the display.

"How pathetic," Raditz said, stalking closer. "Couldn't even take a couple of hits."

This was far easier than he thought. Raditz leaned forward and grabbed Shalloto by the front of his armor, jerking him up so they could look each other in the eye.

"Ready to lose, weakling?" Raditz asked, arm drawn back to deliver a final punch to knock his opponent out.

Shalloto flashed him a grin. "I dunno, are you?"

"Wha-"

Shalloto kneed him in the gut, causing Raditz to loosen his grip on him and bend forward, mouth wide open in a silent scream of pain. Shalloto didn't stop there, he pulled back for a second and then elbowed Raditz as hard as he could into the ground and repeatedly began stomping on his back. Raditz could feel his power slipping away with each hit and struggled vainly to get back up but all he managed was to roll over. Shalloto didn't risk him slipping away and stomped him in the stomach one last time before keeping him pinned in place.

"Shit! Raditz!" Turles shouted.

"Just give up, Raditz!" Shalloto said smugly.

Raditz groaned and attempted to remove Shalloto's foot with his hands but the other Saiyan wasn't having it. He could hear the Saiyans in the stands beginning to laugh at his misfortune. How he was pinned like _nothing_ by a child who wasn't even at his full strength. He couldn't _stand_ being laughed at, especially in battle. It was a fact Turles knew all too well so Raditz didn't understand why his comrade suddenly hissed,

"Raditz! It's okay! Forget about it! Give up!"

He jerked his head in Turles direction disbelievingly. Had he forgotten how hard they had worked to get here? This was their moment and Raditz couldn't believe he was telling him to throw it away. "Turles…"

Turles pounded his chest twice with his head held high, grinning. _Comrades._

Raditz understood.

Swallowing, he met Shalloto's eyes. "H-Hey, did you hear that?" he asked in a low voice. Loud enough for Shalloto to hear, but much too quiet for the announcer. "I give up! I admit it, I'm outclassed. Remove your foot."

"What?" Shalloto growled disbelievingly.

Raditz glanced at the stands at the laughing Saiyans and then gave Shalloto a desperate look. "Please… Let me go! I'll throw the match, I promise. I just can't lose like this… not on the ground. It's humiliating." Shalloto was speechless but Raditz caught him glance at the stands where the Saiyans were jeering. "I need to at least keep my pride. That's all I ask of you…"

Raditz's fingers dug into the dirt and he shut his eyes, forcing as much desperation into his voice as he could.

"PLEASE!"

"Tch…"

Shalloto's foot lifted.

Raditz grinned. His hand closed around the dirt and he threw it forward, releasing a handful of it directly into Shalloto's eyes.

"Oh ho! It seems Raditz has blinded his opponent!" the announcer shouted. Raditz forced himself up on one knee. His tail unraveled from his waist and swept at the dirt, causing thick dust cloud to form around them. "With all this dust, we can't see the ring anymore!"

"Shit! Where is he?!" Shalloto cursed, unaware that it was no longer only he and Raditz in the ring.

Turles had leapt forward into the ring as soon as the cloud of dust had risen. He managed to maneuver around Shalloto and grabbed his tail, squeezing it as hard as he could. Shalloto was immediately brought to his knees. He looked over his shoulder at Turles in disbelief.

"Damn it! Y-You… It's… forbidden to… to intervene!" Shalloto choked out. "And pull one's tail!"

Turles grinned at him wickedly as he saw Raditz recover and lurch towards them with a powerful attack. "Who cares, idiot?" he laughed, releasing him and rolling out of the ring just as Raditz's attack made contact.

The impact was powerful enough to clear the dust and force Shalloto out of the ring. He crashed against the opposite wall, unconscious. The stadium was completely silent as everyone took in what just happened.

"Amazing! Shalloto was thrown out of the ring! Which mean Raditz's team wins the tournament!" the announcer cried. The stadium was filled with the roars of cheers.

"What? No way!" Chicoryto and Bit shouted.

Raditz panted from exhaustion but kept himself upright as he exited the ring. Turles was smirking at him and the two bumped their arm braces against each other as they passed.

"Good job, Raditz," Turles said teasingly. "Knew you had it."

"Shut up," Raditz said, unable to stop the grin from forming on his face.

"H-Hey!" Chicoryto shouted from the other side of the ring. "You're nothing but… but a bunch of cheaters!"

Both Raditz and Turles looked at the younger Saiyan smugly. "Ha!" Raditz said. "There's no rules in war, kid! And we're the soldiers!"

"You alright?" Turles asked Raditz when they had left the stadium. Turles himself had been knocked out of the ring without taking too much damage so he was escorting Raditz to the medical bay.

"I've had worse," Raditz grunted, clutching his stomach and wincing. "You should see me after a training session with Bardock."

Turles snickered. "I believe it! Gods, I heard his power level was reaching 10,000 now. Is it true?"

Raditz shrugged and then hissed in pain. "Ah, I haven't seen him in a few months. Not sure."

"Imagine, power level 10,000," Turles said fondly. "What does it _feel_ like? Does it pulse through you? Does it boil the blood… or does it feel normal? I don't feel any stronger than I was a year ago, but my power level has gone up for sure."

"Only one way to find out," Raditz chuckled.

"Aye, and we're well on our way."

They entered the healing chambers. The first one they saw was their team member, Rycelo. His recovery time was almost complete already. There was no staff in sight, but this was pretty normal since operating the tanks was really simple and the Saiyans went in so often they became familiar with the equipment themselves.

"Hey Raditz, look who it is," Turles said, grinning and pointing to the corner of the room.

"Shit," Raditz said.

His mother had found him.

Gine was a small Saiyan with a very petite figure, unlike most Saiyans. She was not a fighter and the way she held herself made it clear. Her body was never tense and her tail was almost always free from her waist, waving in the air behind her displaying her true emotions to anyone who looked her way. Her hair only touched her shoulders, but was shaggy almost like Raditz's. When she saw Raditz and Turles enter, her face crumbled with worry and she strode over to him before he could brace himself and pulled him close into a hug.

Raditz's face flushed red at his mother's gentle embrace. Turles just coughed and turned away, crossing his arms with a smirk. One of Gine's arms unwrapped from him and began running down the cuts and bruises on his body. She was concerned, but knew this tournament had meant everything to Raditz.

"Congratulations, Raditz," Gine sighed, running her fingers through her son's hair.

" _Mother_ ," Raditz growled, attempting to pull away without hurting her or himself.

She giggled. "I won't be seeing you for a while, Raditz. Indulge me this once."

"Yeah, yeah," Raditz murmured, leaning into his mother's arms. Just a little. Barely. "I won't be gone _that_ long though. This will be an easy mission."

"Your first," Gine reminded, squeezing him a little tighter. She pulled back to get a better look at his face. "Your father would be proud."

Raditz perked up at that. "You think? When'll he be back? Can we tell him now?"

"He's just finished a mission and should be on his way back... Perhaps you'll have time to tell him yourself before you depart." Gine's eyes lit up. "I know someone else who would love to see you off though."

Raditz tilted his head. "Who?"

She winked at him. "It's a surprise." She turned to Turles who was still looking the other way. "Hello, Turles."

Turles' head snapped in her direction, a blush forming on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and looked at the ground instead. "Hi."

Raditz snickered and Turles gave him a nasty look which only caused him to laugh louder.

"I brought something from Meat Distribution," Gine said, turning around and picking up a package wrapped in brown paper that she had placed on top of a counter. She bent down in front of Turles and offered it to him with a small smile. "For you."

Turles took the package gratefully. From where he was, Raditz could smell it was a good amount of smoked meat, something Turles had a hard time getting his hands on since he lived alone. When Gine ruffled Turles' hair, his face was completely red.

"You should eat it while Raditz recovers. I'm afraid you can't take it with you on your mission," Gine added.

"Th-thanks," Turles said.

Gine stood up and smiled at Raditz and Turles. "Alright, I'm going to go check on the surprise to see when it'll be ready. I'll be there to see you boys off, okay? Raditz, make sure you stay in there the full session, you'll want to land on that planet at full strength."

"Yes, mother."

"Make sure you find a food source just incase you aren't able to clear the planet in time!"

"Yes, mother."

" _And_ water! Food is important for a Saiyan but we can do without it for a few weeks. Water is the most important thing!"

" _Mother_."

Gine giggled and left the room, leaving both Saiyan children blushing.

"Your mom's something else," Turles said, scratching at his cheek.

"Don't remind me," Raditz sighed, hopping into the healing tank and putting a mask on. Turles went to the control panel and punched in a few buttons. The tank sealed and began to fill up with rejuvenation liquid. The last thing Raditz saw before closing his eyes was Turles ripping at the paper around his meal with his teeth and sitting in front of him to wait.

* * *

When Raditz opened his eyes he noticed Turles was still waiting and Rycelo had apparently been released already. Turles saw he was awake and quickly went to the control panels to release him.

"Where's Rycelo?" Raditz asked, throwing off the mask as soon as the tank was drained and opened.

"I sent him to attend the mission briefing," Turles said. "We wanted to wait for you but the other soldiers in charge didn't so I figured I'd send him, then wait for you here so we could join him as soon as you recovered rather than sticking you here alone until someone _happened_ to release you."

"Shit, thanks," Raditz said. He shook his tail off and wrapped it around his waist. "Rycelo better get all the information we need. Last thing I want is to be sent to the wrong planet…"

"You kidding? Rycelo's been waiting as long as us for this moment. He's got this," Turles said. "Come on, let's _go_!"

The two Saiyan children darted out of the medical bay… only to almost be completely tramped by an older Saiyan who had pushed past them, not losing stride even when he almost knocked them over.

"What's _his_ problem?" Turles asked, scowling. Raditz wasn't paying attention. He had recognized who the older Saiyan was. When Raditz had failed to respond, Turles looked up and let out a soft, "Oh."

"Bardock," Raditz whispered. "Mother was right, he's back…"

Turles tilted his head. "Um, is it just me or does he not look too good?"

His father looked stressed and disoriented and extremely exhausted. He still hadn't spared them a glance even though it should have been second nature to be aware of his surroundings at all times. Obviously, something was keeping his mind occupied. Telling his father about his mission suddenly didn't feel that important. Besides, Raditz figured, it'd be much better to tell his father about a _successful_ one.

"You gonna tell him about your mission?" Turles asked. "Cause now's your chance."

Raditz shook his head so fast his own hair almost whipped him in the face. "No! It can wait, we'll just-"

"HEY MISTER!"

" _Turles_!" Raditz hissed in horror. Turles elbowed him in the ribs and pointed at Bardock who had stopped and whirled around to face them. It was clear he didn't recognize Raditz and he tried not to let that bother him.

"He's got somethin' to tell you!" Turles said, jerking a thumb at Raditz who suddenly couldn't find words.

Bardock squinted at him, then his eyes widened with recognition and a quick 'oh shit' expression flashed across his face.

"Raditz, you've grown," he puffed. "How's Gi- How's your mother?"

"Y-Yes!" Raditz blurted. "I mean. Good! She's good! Doing great!"

Bardock hesitated, then nodded. "Ah, good…" He made a move to turn away and Turles smacked the back of Raditz's head.

"I- I'm going on a mission!" Raditz shouted quickly, recapturing Bardock's attention. "I- We won a tournament. We'll be going on our first official purging mission under Lord Frieza."

Bardock's body went rigid, but then seemed to relax as he began to completely focus on his son. He gave Raditz a tired, but proud smile. "Mission, huh?" He looked around the vacant hall and then back at Raditz and Turles. "Impressive. When do you head out?"

"As soon as we're ready, so today," Turles answered. "We just gotta collect new armor and scouters and register some pods."

Bardock nodded at him and glanced down the hall again. "A mission… Alright. Raditz, c'mere." He pointed at Turles. "You. Go get things ready while I show my son something."

Raditz's heart began to pound in his chest from the excitement of his father actually calling him over. Turles gave him a quick thumbs up and disappeared down the hall. His father began walking in the opposite direction and Raditz had to run to catch up.

"Where are we going?" Raditz asked.

"The incubation chambers."

That completely threw Raditz off until he remembered that he had a brother who was incubating in there for the past three years. His thoughts went back to his mother saying she had a surprise guest that would be seeing him off on his mission. The surprise was his brother!

Raditz knew it was rare for two Saiyans to have the same mother and father. Parents and children were hardly kept track of and he also knew his parents, Bardock and Gine, were an odd couple by Saiyan standards. For one, they were a _couple_. Bonded by affection and not by only physical desires. Saiyan only bred to create more warriors and had no interest in raising their young since they had the ability to survive on their own at only three years old. Though most Saiyan children did have at least one adult to train them, in some cases there were Saiyan children like Turles who came out of incubation with no idea of who their parents were, struggling to survive and make a name for themselves.

It was difficult enough for one Saiyan parent to stick around, but two was almost unheard of. Gine and Bardock were different. Or rather, _Gine_ was different. Raditz would hear the term 'Soft Heart' thrown around to describe her and her father before her. Gine had the uncanny ability to make others enjoy her company at the expense of any fighting instinct in her body. Bardock was an average Saiyan, one who didn't know his parents. When he met Gine, she won him over and the two eventually became a pair and had their first son, Raditz, who was born with a power level of 54.

Raditz didn't see Bardock around too often, but once and a while Bardock would seek him out after visiting Gine and train him, fully acknowledging their relation. Raditz remembered loving the attention his mother would give him when he was little, but when he got older and saw this was not the norm, he began to reject her affections. He wanted to fight and get strong. He couldn't do that if he became a Soft Heart like his mother.

"Here," Bardock said, stopping in front of a large glass window. Raditz had to stand on his toes to peek over and spot the incubation pod his brother was kept in. He recognized Bardock's hair on him immediately.

"Kakarot," Raditz read. His tail unwrapped from his waist and began to sway back and forth. "Brother."

"Hnn." Bardock crossed his arms. He looked disappointed. "He has a power level of 2."

Raditz jerked back at that and stared up at his father. "What?! That low?" He shrunk down at the frown he saw on Bardock's face as he continued to stare at his brother. "Um… well, he's just a baby…"

Bardock's frown slid away and he chuckled. "You sound like your mother."

Raditz scowled and crossed his arms, tail snapping back around his waist. "He needs to get stronger," he added quickly.

"That's right," Bardock said. "I'm having him sent to a planet in the Sol sector to purge. It's a weak planet called Earth but with his transformation, should allow him to increase his power level to a more appropriate one. Not as impressive as an official mission, but he's not strong yet."

"What if he's still weak when he comes back?" Bardock looked confused for a minute, then shut his eyes and rubbed his temple as if dealing with a huge headache. Several seconds later he let out a breath he was holding and Raditz found himself worried. "…Father?"

Bardock grunted. "What… was the question again?"

"What'll happen to him if he's weak when he comes back?" Raditz repeated. Had his father's last mission given him a head injury? He probably needed to get to the medical bay, but Raditz couldn't see any physical damage on him.

"Hopefully, he'll have an older brother who will have experienced official missions to help train him. You two can become quite a team if you stick together."

"Is that what brothers do?" Raditz asked honestly.

Bardock hesitated as though he was actually thinking about it. "I'll admit I've never seen two brothers together," he said. "But the way I see it, you'll be his comrade for life. You two will be bonded by your blood and the blood of those you spill as you get stronger together."

A close comrade for life sounded pretty good to Raditz. He focused on his brother, silently willing for him to get stronger. Bardock shifted uncomfortably next to him, then abruptly turned toward him and went on one knee. Raditz jerked back in surprise. His father had _never_ gone down to his level. They were now eye to eye and Raditz could see… fear… and anger. He grabbed his shoulder.

"Raditz," Bardock said. "This mission you're on… I need you to go all the way on this. Don't let anything or _anyone_ stop you from getting to that planet, alright?"

"I… uh…"

" _Listen_ to me, Raditz," Bardock hissed, shaking him once. "It's important. The planet you're going to. I need you to trust me on this. Trust in me… and trust in your brother, alright?"

"Ah…" Raditz shut his eyes, then opened them and gave his father a determined nod. "Yes, of course. Father."

It was the second time today he'd seen Bardock look genuinely pleased with him. He released his shoulder and leaned back a little, appearing more serious. "Just remember. Planet Earth in the Sol Sector, Outer District. If you can't remember that, it's also called Planet 4032-77 of Sector Eighty in the Northern Quadrant. When I send Kakarot there-"

"You're sending our son _where?!_ "

Raditz ducked down instinctively when he heard his mother's shout. Next to him, he saw his father's tail bush up, though the expression on his face hadn't changed.

"Gine," Bardock greeted, standing up and inclining his head. Gine stomped forward and pushed against his chest roughly with both of her arms, though he remained unmoved. Her tail was lashing back and forth so furiously Raditz was scared it would fly off and hit him.

"Bardock, what do you mean you're sending Kakarot away? Why? Why today?!"

"He needs to go as soon as possible."

"I was going to take him home today, you can't do this… You didn't even consult me! Raditz is leaving too, didn't he tell you? Are you trying to make sure I remain alone for the rest of my life?"

"It's for his own good-"

"He's a _baby_!"

"For god's sake, Gine, they're _my_ breed, they can take care of themselves! _They don't need your_ _ **coddling**_ _!_ " Bardock roared.

Raditz and Gine both flinched back, causing Bardock to look briefly ashamed. He shut his eyes and shook the look away, eyes hardening into a glare. When he spoke, his voice was softer, but still firm.

"Gine, this is bigger than us. I…" he seemed to struggle with words. "My last mission made me _see_ things that I didn't quite… I still don't understand. It seems impossible."

His eyes flickered around the room as if someone was watching them. Obviously not satisfied, he took Gine by the wrist to lead her away to somewhere even more secluded. Raditz was about to follow but was stopped by Bardock's tail that unraveled and pressed against him to keep him in place.

"Stay with your brother," he demanded. "He'll be released from the pod soon and I don't want any of Frieza's rats getting to him first."

Raditz was shocked by this statement but just nodded. He watched both of his parents leave and then entered the incubation chambers so he could wait near his brother's pod. He hoped Kakarot emerged soon, he had a mission to get to.

He didn't have to wait long. A sturdy, older alien with a white beard and mustache wearing white robes approached the pod and stared at Raditz.

"Do you… need something?" the alien asked.

Raditz cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for him to be released," he said, pointing at Kakarot.

"Oh? Is there a reason you're waiting for this specific child?"

"He's my brother."

The alien squinted down at him, observing him critically. "Never had a _brother_ get their breed out of the incubation chamber before."

"We're sons of Bardock." Hopefully his father's name would get something out of this. The alien looked at a screen on the pod and hummed thoughtfully. "My name's Raditz," he added.

"Seems about right," the alien said. He typed a few commands into the pod and it opened with a whoosh of air.

The Saiyan opened his eyes drowsily. Solid black, just like an average Saiyan. Raditz leaned forward a little. He had no idea how to approach his brother, especially when the little thing was bound to be vicious and untrained. Kakarot's eyes focused on him and his brow furrowed, making Raditz feel like he was being judged by a _baby_.

He didn't get to think of anything to say to his brother because suddenly all he could see was a mouth full of sharp teeth lunging towards him.

Without a second thought, Raditz brought a fist up and punched his brother in the face.

The alien burst out laughing when he saw Raditz's panicked expression. "That's Saiyans for ya!" He bent down and picked up Kakarot (who had been knocked out cold) and held him out to Raditz, giving him the impression that this was a common occurrence. Raditz quickly took him in his arms, examining his brother for any other damage he might have caused him. "Raditz, son of Bardock, meet your brother, Kakarot."

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading. If you didn't know already, the beginning of this chapter was taken from the fan manga, _Dragon Ball Zero_ by Toyble, which is what inspired this fic. I'll be cherry picking characters and events from Dragon Ball Minus and the Dragon Ball Movies/Show, whatever suits my needs.


	2. Chapter 2

"Where the hell have you _been_ , Raditz?" Rycelo shouted. "We're going to be running late on our first mission!"

Raditz had burst into the locker room, throwing on the new uniform and armor Turles held out to him.

"Kakarot came out of incubation," he replied. His head twisted around the room to look for the scouters and Turles handed that to him as well, looking as though he was about to laugh at Raditz's flustered state.

Rycelo gave him a confused look. "Who the fuck is Kakarot and what does that have to do with anything?"

"He's my brother. My parents wanted me to see him."

Turles threw his head back and laughed while Rycelo scoffed. "Your parents are _weird_."

"Shut up. Did I miss anything?"

"Planet report and scouter IDs," Rycelo said, holding up a tablet and a few disks. "You and Turles were _both_ late. I got all the information here as well as some manuals and our personal information to install into our scouters. Turles already registered our pods by the docking station so I got some supplies put in them-"

" _Supplies_?" Turles scoffed. "Come on, Rycelo. We don't need all that stuff. How hard can it be to purge a planet? Just get in, transform and get out."

"You say that _now,_ " Rycelo said. "But what happens when one of us destroys our pods when we're transformed? Huh? What if our scouters get destroyed? Hell, could be a rebellion hiding on that planet and we'll need to call for back up-"

"Alright, alright, I get it," Turles huffed and snatched the disk with his name on it. "Lemme see that." He inserted it into his scouter and tapped a few buttons to install the data it held.

Rycelo tried to hand Raditz his disk but Raditz waved him away and went outside to where their new pods were docked. "I'll do it later, come on, lets get moving!"

"Oh, _now_ someone's in a hurry," Rycelo muttered, tucking the disk behind his breastplate and following his comrade. "At least sync your scouter with ours."

With a growl, Raditz raised a hand and waited for the others to follow suit so they could sync their scouters all on the same frequency. After a few beeps on confirmation that the sync was successful, Raditz ran up to his pod, unable to prevent his tail from unraveling around his waist and wave in excitement. Rycelo was inspecting his pod thoroughly while Turles leaned against his own, hands behind his head and probably trying to look cool. A few older Saiyan soldiers were watching them from their own pods with looks of amusement while some teenagers laughed at them outright. Raditz found that this time, he didn't care.

"Everything in order?" Raditz asked Rycelo.

"Yes, surprisingly Turles did everything right."

"I'm not fucking incompetent," Turles snapped, leering at them.

"Anyway, I set the coordinates so we're ready to launch. I'm setting it for three minutes. Raditz, you're in the lead."

"Three minutes?" Turles asked, looking behind them at the crowd of Saiyans seeing some of their comrades and companions off. "Raditz, I thought your mom was gonna be here to see you off with that surprise."

"Why, want a kiss goodbye?" Raditz asked teasingly, though his eyes scanned the crowd just in case his mother had changed her mind and decided sending Kakarot off could wait.

"Fuck you," Turles said, blushing. "I'm just used to you being babied by her so much."

"Mother and Father are sending Kakarot to a planet, I'm going to assume they're with him now," Raditz sighed. "I already said my goodbyes since they can't make it."

Turles was unable to cover the look of disappointment on his face. When he realized Raditz saw he crossed his arms. "Fuck, fine, I like your mom, alright?"

Raditz smirked while Rycelo cackled, causing Turles to blush harder. "She has that effect on people," Raditz said. He elbowed Turles as his comrade climbed into his pod to escape them. "Hey, she said for me to tell you bye and good luck on our mission."

"Yeah?" Turles muttered. He smirked. "I won't need it, but I _guess_ I appreciate it."

Raditz rolled his eyes as Turles shut his pod. Rycelo had gone inside his already and as soon as Raditz was satisfied they were secure, he climbed in his own with about a minute to spare. When the pod launched into the air, he was surprised by how smooth it was. It hardly felt like the ship was moving. He waited a few minutes before contacting his squad through his scouter.

"Successful launch?" he asked.

"Yes," Rycelo said.

"About time," Turles said. "Hey, what's this yellow light flashing?"

Raditz frowned and looked around his pod. He was about to say he didn't see anything before it flashed in front of him. It was an announcement. He flicked a switch under the light to listen, hoping they hadn't done anything wrong.

"All Saiyans are to return to planet Vegeta immediately as ordered by Lord Frieza," a voice announced. "All Saiyans are to return to planet Vegeta immediately as ordered by Lord Frieza."

" _What?!"_ Turles barked over the scouter so loudly Raditz flinched.

"You can't be serious," Rycelo growled.

"No way, they can't do this!"

Raditz groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. All of this work, all of these dramatics… just to lead them back home! He could hear Turles and Rycelo arguing over the scouters and the voice continued to repeat the order through the speakers… it was giving him a headache.

"Raditz!" Turles shouted. "Come on, we're not really going to head back now, are we?"

"It's an order from Lord Frieza," Rycelo snapped. "We can't ignore an order on our first day as soldiers!"

"Why didn't they tell us before we got in the damn pods? Why so sudden? This is ridiculous!"

"Rycelo's right," Raditz sighed. "This is an order _and_ our first day. Just be glad we didn't _land_ on the damn planet."

Turles cursed loudly but didn't argue against it, though Raditz could just imagine his face and lashing tail. As Raditz leaned forward to push a button and announce the order was acknowledged by his team, the image of his parents popped into his mind. Gods, he had planned to make them proud…

" _This mission you're on… I need you to go all the way on this. Don't let anything or_ anyone _stop you from getting to that planet, alright?"_

Raditz hesitated.

"Uh, Raditz?" Rycelo called. "Need me to do it?"

" _I need you to trust me on this."_

"Father…"

"Eh?"

" _Trust in me…"_

"My father, Bardock… He said… No, I think he knew this was going to happen."

"What do you mean?" Turles asked, anger gone from his voice.

Raditz pulled his hand away from the button and instead muted the order, though he could still hear the echo coming from Turles and Rycelo's pods through their scouters. "Ignore the order. My dad said we _had_ to go on this mission and not let anyone stop us. He knew something was up!"

"Your father is a low-class soldier, what the hell does he know?" Rycelo scoffed. "Old man's taken too many hits to the head and has been insubordinate from the start. Trust me, Raditz, you don't want to be like him."

"Hey!" Turles snapped before Raditz could lose his own temper. "Bardock is the strongest and most _respected_ low-class soldier! He's strong because he takes his missions into his own hands. Raditz is gonna follow in his footsteps and I'll be damned if I don't let him take me with him. Raditz, I'm with you on this. Let's go to that damn planet, we have a mission."

Raditz grinned when he heard Turles mute the announcement on his end. "Rycelo? You in?" he asked.

"If he wants to fly back home to his daddy with his tail tucked between his legs, just let him," Turles said, snickering.

"Ugh! Fine!" Rycelo snapped, muting the announcement as well.

"They won't miss three Saiyan brats," Raditz assured. "Besides, I'm sure we're not the only ones staying off-planet. There's gotta be a bunch of Saiyans a year out who would never make it in time."

"I guess…"

"Ah, they'll miss us when they see how quickly we finish this mission," Turles said confidently. "How far is planet Pecha anyway?"

"Four months."

"God damn…"

"Yeah, we'll have to be held in suspended animation," Raditz said. "Might as well engage it now."

He kept his eyes on his screen, waiting for his friends to activate their sleeping gas. As soon as they did and his pod sent confirmation that they were unconscious, he engaged his own. It wasn't too long before his eyelids got heavy and he fell asleep.

* * *

 _Kakarot had woken up in his arms and stayed where he was grudgingly, though he was sniffing Raditz and biting some of his armor when he wasn't paying attention._

" _You're a little beast," Raditz said, shaking his head. "Won't be much longer now. Mother and Father said they'd be back soon and they know I have a mission to get to."_

 _Kakarot slapped at Raditz's chest with an open palm as if trying to attack him. Raditz raised an eyebrow in amusement. "For a weakling you sure like to pick a fight. That's good. You'll get strong in no time if that Earth planet is weak as father says." Kakarot wiggled out of his arms and was now hanging halfway over his shoulder to tug at Raditz's hair. Raditz didn't mind too much, he was used to opponents aiming there and Kakarot was extremely weak compared to his past opponents. He was, however, surprised when Kakarot giggled in delight. "I'll take that as a compliment. People usually make fun of my hair."_

 _Raditz picked him off his shoulder and put him on the ground, holding him up by the hands so he could stand. He was a bit wobbly at first, but after a minute or two of Raditz's support, he was stumbling around on his own and attempting to find anything of interest in the hallway. It was, of course, bare so he got bored quickly and went back to Raditz to attack his hair._

 _That was how Gine and Bardock found them. Raditz waiting patiently while Kakarot went into fierce battle against his tangled mane._

" _Hello, Kakarot," Gine said, picking him up and holding him close. Kakarot responded by angrily chewing on her arm but she didn't even seem to feel it._

" _Does this mean I can go now?" Raditz asked, leaning back and forth on his heels._

 _He couldn't help but yelp when Gine pulled him into a fierce hug, blushing at Bardock's unimpressed look. Raditz's face was buried in her neck and Kakarot pushed against his own._

" _Oh, Raditz," Gine said. "We need to send Kakarot away now, we won't be able to see you off. This is where we have to say our goodbyes. You won't be seeing your brother for a long while." She pulled away and then held Kakarot out to him so they were face to face. Kakarot swiped at him viciously._

" _Eh, I think I've had enough of him for now," Raditz said, crossing his arms and looking away with a huff. He didn't want to admit to himself that he was just a little bit jealous that his parents would be seeing Kakarot off instead of him. "You take him wherever you want."_

" _You sound like your father," Gine sighed. Bardock hummed in amusement and put an arm around her waist, gently pulling her closer in a rare moment of affection. At the sudden movement, Kakarot squirmed in her arms and glared up at the older Saiyan suspiciously. Bardock bared his teeth at him with a low growl, causing Kakarot to press himself closer to Gine's chest in the hopes she would provide protection._

" _Coward," Raditz snickered._

 _He yelped when Bardock cuffed the back of his head and Kakarot giggled and clapped his hands together._

" _You have a mission to get to, brat," Bardock said._

 _Raditz perked up a little. "Y-Yeah! Um…" He looked at his parents awkwardly. A big part of him wanted to say goodbye, but another part was wondering if that would be seen as weak. What was the point of goodbyes when you knew you were going to see them again?_

" _Hold on," Bardock said suddenly, surprising Raditz. He tore off the ends of both of his armbands so that he now held two rings of red cloth and tossed them at Raditz. Raditz looked at them in awe and then at his father. "When you get back we'll do something together."_

 _Although Bardock said it and it filled Raditz with anticipation… there was something about his father's eyes that bothered him. An uncertain… or a guilty look. Raditz got a sense of disappointment. It was likely his father knew it wouldn't happen and the only reason for that Raditz could think of was that he knew he'd forget. Still, the fact his father was trying to give him something to look forward to encouraged Raditz not to call him out on it._

" _Great!" Raditz said, sliding the armbands onto himself._

" _Be safe," Gine said, drawing his attention towards her. His eyes widened when he saw she looked as though she was holding back tears. This, and Bardock's guilty look were beginning to worry him as he considered that the two just had a private conversation and perhaps there was something bigger going on that they didn't want him to know._

" _Mom-"_

 _She handed Kakarot to Bardock (who suddenly had an uncharacteristic look of panic on his face) and gave Raditz another hug that he couldn't help but return this time._

" _Just follow your mission and remember everything your father told you. Even if it seems weird."_

 _Raditz pulled away. "Of course, but mom-"_

" _He has to go now," Bardock said suddenly. He was holding Kakarot upside down by one of his legs and was rubbing at his temple like he'd just received another headache._

" _Go along, Raditz," Gine said, putting a hand on his head and giving him a gentle push. "Oh, and tell Turles and Rycelo we said goodbye as well… and good luck!"_

* * *

"You have arrived at your destination. Entering planet's orbit," the pod announced as Raditz shook himself awake from his dream.

"Turles? Rycelo?" he called over the scouter. "You guys up?"

He smirked when he heard their tired grunts of affirmative.

"Wait, shit, we're here!" Turles shouted, wide awake now as he spotted the purple planet in front of them. "Finally!"

Before Raditz could say anything, a green light flashed in front of him. Someone was attempting to transmit a message. Someone from Frieza's army. Turles and Rycelo had gone silent as they received the same alert. The timing was too convenient and they all knew they had just been caught disobeying an order.

Raditz cursed loudly a few times and then took a deep breath. He knew there was a chance that someone would contact them about ignoring the order, but he had hoped it'd be a slim one.

"Squadron Leader, Pod C068, this is Frieza Planet 124. State your business," a voice said through the pod. It was coming from the planet Pecha, surprisingly.

"Confirm that," Turles commanded Rycelo over the scouter.

"This is Squadron Leader, Pod C068," Raditz said. "My squad and I were sent on a mission to purge planet Pecha of all sentient life four months ago. We've just come out of suspended animation and are preparing to land."

"Scans indicate you have two young Saiyan recruits with you. Saiyans received a summons to planet Vegeta four months ago." The voice sounded irritated.

Raditz frowned. _Two_ Saiyans? There was three, including himself. Something must have been wrong with their scans.

"Must have missed it," he said, deciding they'd probably be in less trouble if they thought there was only two of them. "Is there a problem?"

"Planet Pecha has already been purged." Raditz almost didn't need his scouter to hear Turles yell 'fuck' at the top of his lungs. Rycelo was currently confirming the report. Planet Pecha had indeed already been renamed Frieza Planet 124 _and_ held a base. "However, we have another planet in the area well suited for takeover by Saiyans if you are willing."

"We have to take it," Rycelo said, surprisingly. "They're not mad at us at all. Take it, Raditz!"

Raditz frowned. Bardock had said to make sure they get to the planet his mission was on. The mission planet changed, did Bardock know that as well? Probably not, since he had just found out that day that Raditz was even going on a mission. To Raditz, it seemed like Bardock just didn't want him on planet Vegeta when Frieza sent that summons. He didn't think his father would be too upset about this…

"That won't be a problem," Raditz told the base. "Send the coordinates and we'll be on our way."

The coordinates popped up on the small screen in front of him and Raditz was relieved to see it was only about an hour away. He relayed the information to Turles and Rycelo and they input the coordinates, shooting off to their destination.

"So, what's the mission this time?" Turles asked.

Raditz scrolled through it, frowning. "There's not much info on the inhabitants, but the mission is to prep it for takeover. It's not a purging mission, looks like we just gotta give 'em a good scare. These guys might be a suitable addition to the Frieza Force."

"So we're playing peacekeepers? That's no fun at all," Turles grumbled.

"Not necessarily," Rycelo said. "If there's a ruler, they'll wanna fight us with their best soldiers to defend their planet and see if Frieza's army is an actual force to be reckoned with."

"That's right," Raditz said. "It's not purging but…"

"But we get to fight in actual battle instead of shooting at useless meat sacks!" Turles finished excitedly. "Hell, maybe this _is_ better than purging!"

Raditz sent the information to their pods so they could look over the information themselves and leaned back in his seat to look out the window of his pod. Space was much too large to notice anything actually moving out there, but he didn't want to have himself sent to sleep for an hour after four months of being unconscious.

"Never heard of planet Desset," Raditz said as the planet came into view an hour later.

"I'm sure there's a lot of planets we haven't heard of," Rycelo said.

"Report doesn't show a ranking or class on the planet though. I don't like us going in this blind."

"They wouldn't have sent us if we couldn't handle it."

Raditz grunted and decided to request any updated information about Desset from Frieza Planet 124 as soon as they received it. He got no response but didn't let it get to him. It wasn't like he wanted to chat.

It wasn't long until they were rotating around the planet. Rycelo chose a spot for them to land and they crashed down with no problems. None of them said a word as they climbed out of their pods and flew out of the craters they made to meet up in one spot. Raditz could practically taste their excitement and smirked.

"Nice secluded spot," Turles said, looking around for anything interesting.

"One sun, no moons," Raditz observed. "Least we don't have to worry about rampaging around and ruining the mission. Probably could've helped in a pinch though."

"Kind of looks like planet Vegeta," Rycelo said. "Except less red and more dead."

Indeed, the landscape around them looked barren. Not a sign of any plants or wild life. While planet Vegeta was a desert planet, there was still plenty of wildlife to eat and desert plants to sustain them. Here, it just looked like a bunch of rocks and dry, grey dirt. The sky was covered with dark clouds, yet Raditz was pretty sure they held no rain. It gave the planet an ugly, sick look that made his fur on his tail stand up a little.

"What's the highest power level?" Raditz asked. "It'll probably be the ruler of this planet or their soldiers."

Turles tapped at his scouter, flinching back when he saw the number. "The fuck?" Rycelo looked up from his pod remote curiously as Raditz gave Turles a look to hurry up. "It's… I mean, the power level I'm picking up is 1,000. About 40 miles east..."

Raditz stiffened. "…Ok. That's probably the leader. If it comes down to it we can just use numbers-"

"Raditz," Turles interrupted, looking pale. "That was just the first one I picked up. There's others. I'm picking up 2,000 and 7,000 northwest of here. Multiple ones."

"Bullshit!" Rycelo shouted, pushing the button on his scouter. His tail bushed up. "4,000… 6,000…"

Unwilling to believe it, Raditz tapped his own scouter. "18,000?! 8,000… 12,000… Gods…"

Turles shook his head and a determined look crossed his face. "Shit. There's four coming this way. Power levels are between 1,000 and 6,000." He looked at Raditz. "What do we do?"

"Looks like we're playing fucking peacekeepers," Raditz said, sweating. There was no way he and his comrades could fight them. Their own power levels were only between 500 and 600 and there was no moon. "In theory, these guys know Frieza is coming to take over and recruit. We just have to avoid the conflict."

"We're Saiyans. That might be pretty difficult if they start provoking us," Rycelo said.

"Try contacting that base. If they don't respond to the signal from the pod, try contacting someone through the scouters. We need a fucking explanation as to why they sent us here," Raditz said. "Turles and I are going to meet these guys halfway. We don't want them getting to the pods if they're hostile."

Ryeclo nodded and dived towards the pods. As soon as Raditz heard him attempting to establish contact, he nodded at Turles and they both flew towards the natives of the planet that were approaching them.

"This is bullshit," Turles growled. "How the hell are we supposed to do this? We were only trained to fight!"

"I _know_. Something reeks," Raditz said, tapping at his scouter again to get a more accurate reading on the average power levels. "Average power level here has to be around 10,000. That makes this planet a class S. This is more of a job for Frieza's right hands, Zarbon and Dodoria and their crews. _Maybe_ some experienced low-class Saiyans in their Oozaru form."

Turles cursed. "This is the _worst_ first mission."

Raditz was about to agree but was cut off by a bloodcurdling roar. Both he and Turles halted in midflight, laying eyes on four of the largest and ugliest beings they had ever seen.

They were green bipedal aliens covered in light and dark blotches and easily stood over fifty feet tall. Thin but defined arms stuck out from their thick, sturdy bodies with three clawed digits at the end of each limb. Their mouths seemed to always be hanging open due to having four tusks sticking out at awkward angles, dripping with saliva. Their eyes were blood red, staring at them with the barest hint of sentience. Monsters.

"What the _hell_ ," Raditz hissed. "These aren't… What the hell _is_ this planet?!"

A clawed hand twice the size of them crashed down and they just barely managed to dodge.

"Fuck this!" Turles shouted, firing a powerful blast of ki at the one that had struck at them.

It dissipated when it made contact on its belly, not leaving a mark of any kind.

"Nothing," Turles said, drawing back closer to Raditz.

"They're too strong," Raditz said. He couldn't say anything more because the monsters lurched forward to grab them and he and Turles split up briefly though they made sure to keep each other in sight. They both had the same idea to fly up high out of reach since it was very likely the beasts couldn't fly.

Unfortunately, this didn't deter them because all four of them shot enormous beams of ki out of their mouths and into the air. Raditz managed to dodge all of them and Turles flew higher to get away, though one of his boots got singed. He shot a few more ineffective blasts at them in retaliation. There was nothing they could do, they were too strong for them and they couldn't dodge forever.

"RYCELO!" Raditz shouted into the scouter. "Prep the pods! We're getting the hell out of here!"

"What's going on?" Rycelo asked, panicked and confused.

"We're outmatched!" Turles shouted. "Raditz! Get above the clouds! They can't see us and we can make an escape! We're fucking dead if they land a hit on us!"

Raditz dodged another beam, keeping an eye on Turles who had sped up higher. He made a move to follow but as soon as Turles had reached the clouds, he halted and slammed his hands over his mouth and nose, dropping from the air a few feet and wincing. Raditz glanced up at the clouds again and their dark, ugly color. Shit, were they-

"Toxic," Turles coughed, color draining from his face. "Get away from them…"

Their scouters beeped and they were forced to dodge another onslaught of beams. Raditz looked down and saw that three more monsters had joined them and were now firing beams at random intervals. Before he could bring it to Turles' attention, his comrade completely lost control of his flight and dropped out of the air.

"Turles!"

"What happened?" Rycelo shouted in his ear.

Raditz ignored him and dived down to catch Turles. The sudden weight threw him off for a minute, almost costing him and his comrade's life when he was just a hair away from getting hit. Turles squirmed in his arms, attempting to support himself but whatever toxins had been in the sky seemed to have really affected him. Raditz quickly shifted him so that he held Turles' arm was over his shoulder and he wrapped his tail and other arm around his waist. He felt Turles' tail wrap around his own waist in response, further supporting him. To his relief, Turles was able to at least use his ki to keep himself in the air, only needing Raditz to steer them.

Still, they were slower than Raditz would have liked and no matter how far he went, his scouter beeped continuously, alerting him of different power levels approaching him. All of the natives seemed out to get him, charging towards him as soon as he was in sight and he couldn't hide above the clouds since, apparently, they were toxic. He felt as though he was getting too far from the pods in his endeavor to keep the monsters away from them and Turles was feeling heavier and heavier by the second.

"Raditz," Turles groaned. He coughed some more and he looked extremely pale. "Flying… beacon…"

"What?" Raditz hissed.

"Run," Turles said. He shut his eyes as he attempted to swallow a cough and get his point across. " _Hide._ Ground."

"Shit!" Raditz said. Flying around was what was attracting them! He'd be slower on the ground but if they could hide (his entire being wanted to reject that word) they could wait it out and make it back to the pods. He stopped midflight, head whipping around in all directions for a suitable spot. Luckily, there was a lot of crack and crevices in wasteland around them. He narrowly dodged a beam that was shot at him and then dived down to the ground.

The monsters still saw the direction he had gone and were now all approaching the area to search for him. Raditz could feel his entire body trembling in fear. If they surrounded him there was no where to go and he wouldn't be fast enough to dodge anything. There were several cracks to hide in but each one just felt too out in the open and he was running out of time.

Raditz felt their footsteps getting closer and decided to choose a tiny cave amongst a collection of cliffs and boulders. When he reached it, he realized it was more of a hole with a narrow opening that just went down. Without a second thought, he dropped Turles inside and squeezed in after him. It was smaller than he would have liked but the hole wouldn't be visible to such giant beasts. Turles let out a shuddering breath against him and Raditz hoped the toxins weren't lethal.

He had no idea how long they would have to hide.


End file.
